- The Andries Olivier Durbanville Quadriplegic Centre’s party hiring service, HAO Hiring Supplies, fell victim to a scam resulting in the theft of 10 fold-up tables.
- This incident is part of a worrying trend of scams targeting small catering and hiring businesses in the area, with similar attempts affecting DecoFlow in Pinehurst and a catering company in Melkbosstrand.
- Despite an arrest, the case was withdrawn due to insufficient evidence, and the centre, which relies on hiring service funds to support its residents, is appealing for donations to replace the stolen tables.
The party hiring service of Andries Olivier Durbanville Quadriplegic Centre in Durbanville, HAO Hiring Supplies, has been the victim of a scam in which 10 fold-up tables were stolen.
This came amid an alarming increase in scams targeting small catering and hiring goods businesses. TygerBurger is aware of two more companies, DecoFlow in Pinehurst in Durbanville and a catering hiring company in Melkbosstrand, which respectively almost fell victim and fell victim to similar scams earlier this month.
This is also the third incident since March last year in which HAO Hiring Supplies was scammed or there was an attempt to scam them out of their hiring equipment.
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The 12 vulnerable residents of Andries Olivier Durbanville Quadriplegic Centre are dependent on the funds raised with the party hiring service to cover expenses of the home. The home only receives a small state subsidy and residents must raise funds themselves to run the home.
In the latest incident at Andries Olivier Durbanville Quadriplegic Centre, a suspect has been arrested by Durbanville police, but on 11 July the case was withdrawn by the senior state prosecutor of Bellville Magistrate’s Court even before the suspect’s first appearance in court in November. According to Col Theo Fisher of Durbanville police the case was withdrawn because the identity numbers and vehicle registration number were false, and there was not enough evidence linking the suspect with the crime.
Bakkie
According to Freddie van de Walt the tables were ordered by some Eric Klaas on 18 June.
“He provided his address, a copy of his ID and said he will pay on collection. The order did not seem suspect. While waiting for the pick-up, I started feeling a bit uneasy. I searched his details on Facebook, but got no search results of other people reporting problems regarding the information I had.
“Three men came with an old white bakkie with a CA registration number to collect the tables. I got the driver to photograph and Whatsapp me a copy of his ID in my presence and he paid the money in cash. Their old, rusted and broken vehicle looked suspect and the two men dressed in ragged clothes. So we memorised the vehicle’s registration number.
“The customer sent me a WhatsApp later to say he received the tables and he will return them on Friday. On Friday he pretended to be on his way to return the tables, but thereafter he seemed to have blocked me as my messages were not delivered and calls only ring. He never returned the tables,” Van der Walt says.
he says.
“Unfortunately the authorities, particularly the Durbanville police, have not been providing the necessary assistance or taking any action. While we understand that they have many cases to handle, it is crucial to implement preventive measures to catch scammers before small businesses suffer losses, rather than trying to find the culprits after the theft has occurred,” he says.
Fake proof of payment
In August last year, a man by the name of Terence Malgas placed an order for party hiring goods with HAO Hiring Services.
“I immediately suspected it being a scam and contacted the company which Terence supposedly worked for and they confirmed he was scamming people using their company details. I continued to supply Terence with a quotation of hiring goods, which I had no intention to supply to him, and hoped when he comes to collect it, the police can arrest him. I also confirmed his proof of payment with the bank, which confirmed it to be a fake proof of payment.
“I contacted Durbanville police to request their assistance to be present and potentially apprehend the scammers when they collect the goods. However, they did not seemed interested in assisting. The driver never arrived to collect the order,” he continues.
Never returned
A hiring company in Melkbosstrand was scammed out of R11 700 by a person using the name Martin Noko, when hired party supplies were never returned.
DecoFlow in Pinehurst narrowly escaped being scammed on 17 July when a fake proof of payment was presented by a suspect, who also claimed to be Eric Klaas. He ordered a large quantity of decor, including 100 glasses, knives and forks, amounting to several thousands of rand.
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The owner managed to confirm that the proof of payment was false and reached out to the police for assistance to apprehend the people who will come to collect the hiring supplies. However, the police did not assist.
“A beat up white Ford bantam bakkie with dark tinted windows pulled up. I said that they must just hang on, I would ask someone to open the security gate. Then one of the men urged the driver to leave, saying ‘go! go! go!’ I took photographs of the driver and the vehicle speeding away. I called Durbanville police, but was told as a crime had not yet been committed, they cannot assist,” he says. The Durbanville police could not comment on these allegations in time.
“If any person or business would be so kind as to donate new plastic fold-up tables to HAO Hiring Services, it would be greatly appreciated,” Van der Walt asks.
- Contact Freddie van der Walt on 083 411 0858 or fredvdw@gmail.com for more information.
